Conversion Factor
by sookuke-adek
Summary: ChiChi and Bulma question their usefulness to the Z warriors. Middle aged life has gotten to them, so they decide to take an outrageous chance at becoming hero worthy. Can anybody say upgrade?
1. A Change For the Better

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own DBZ. 

**SUMMARY:** What happens when Chi-Chi's depression and Bulma's free time lead to scientific meddling? They get a taste of real power!

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**CHAPTER 1: A Change For The Better**

Bulma and Chi-Chi sat at the kitchen table across from each other as they sipped on fresh mugs of coffee. Chi-Chi had decided to tag along with the boys to Capsule Corporation and hang out with Bulma while they trained in the gravity room. She usually opted to stay home and clean stuff, but today she was feeling different. She was feeling depressed and needed Bulma's company. They both had certain things in common since they were at similar points in their lives.

"So, do you want to talk about it?" Bulma asked as she warmed her hands on her mug.

Chi-Chi sighed. "I don't even understand how I can be so depressed. I've got everything I've always wanted. My husband is alive again, both of my boys are growing up handsomely, and Videl is a wonderful girlfriend to Gohan. They might even get married soon."

"Well, it sounds like everyone is happy but you. What is it that you have in mind for your future?"

"That's just it…I don't know. I feel inadequate. When it comes down to it, all I do for my family is cook food and clean the house."

Bulma put down her mug and looked Chi-Chi in the eye. "I know exactly how you feel."

Chi-Chi looked at her skeptically. "How can you? You've got a big corporation to run. You have a purpose that helps billions. Almost the entire population depends on the technology that comes out of this place."

"That may be true, but that's not what's most important to me. Like you, I have a desire to help my family and make them happy and be valuable to them. But what use does a Saiyan have for technology?"

Chi-Chi's eyes widened as she came to a realization. "You and I are having our midlife crises. I think I understand why I feel this way. Goku continues to beam youthfulness as I get older everyday. I feel like I'm holding him back. How can a middle aged woman like me possibly be a good wife to him? And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Over the years, and through all of the terrors that have threatened the earth, I've been powerless. All I've been able to do is hide and watch as the people I care about get hurt or killed. I remember when I thought that Gohan was killed by Majin Buu. I felt heart break and anger, but the anger was at myself for not being able to stop it."

"That's exactly how I feel. Happiness, for both of us, is to be needed by our loved ones and to have a lot to offer. But our ability to contribute has diminished with age. I find it harder and harder to keep Vegeta's attention. Most of the things I'm capable of don't have anything to do with his business. My time with him has shrunken to the point that I only see him if the gravity room is broken."

Chi-Chi pushed her coffee aside and rested her chin on the table. "Have you ever wondered what it be like if _we_ were the heroes for once?" she sighed.

Bulma's depression quickly lifted and was replaced by a questionable smile. She gave Chi-Chi that look of understanding and of already having a solution. She was always prepared for anything.

"What are you thinking?" Chi-Chi asked as she sat up straight.

"I've actually had these feelings for quite some time now, so I put together a little project that is just about finished."

"What project?" Chi-Chi asked suspiciously.

"A project that will change our lives forever."

Chi-Chi raised a curious eyebrow.

"You're intrigued aren't you," Bulma started. "Let me explain. After the Buu incident, I took the blood samples of Goku and Vegeta that I had on file and broke them down. I analyzed the structure of their DNA and isolated the genes that set Saiyans apart from humans. I determined that it would be possible to augment human DNA with Saiyan genes and exactly duplicate the properties of a pure blood. It makes sense if you think about it. We wouldn't have been able to interbreed if our genetic makeup wasn't compatible."

Chi-Chi took a few moments to absorb this information and process it. As she thought about it, her confusion was replaced by pure shock. She couldn't believe what Bulma was suggesting. It was unnatural as well as incredibly risky, but she couldn't ignore an opportunity of this magnitude. This could allow her to understand Goku better than anyone else. If she was a Saiyan, then they'd truly be the perfect couple. And she would also be given the power to take charge of her life. "How soon can we do this?"

Bulma clapped her hands in excitement. "This is great! I've had a method worked out for a while now, but I didn't want to be in this alone. Now that you're with me it'll be much more interesting. The gene therapy has to be administered in steps, so you'll have to keep it a secret until it's done. Other than that, we can start right now if you'd like?"

"Wait, didn't you say that the project wasn't even finished yet?"

"Yes, I did say that, but it's only the final stage that's not worked out yet. I'm still waiting on a conversion process for the Super gene. It should be ready by the time we get to the last session."

Chi-Chi gulped. "Y- You mean we're going to be Super Saiyans?"

"Only level one. The blood samples came from before the Cell games. So the higher levels will still be dormant. We'll have to get the rest of the way on our own."

Chi-Chi was a little intimidated after hearing that, but quickly put those thoughts out of her mind. If she was going to be a Saiyan, she needed to be fearless. She stood up and calmed herself. "I'm ready."

Bulma got up and pushed her chair in. "Follow me." She walked out of the kitchen and into the arched hallway that followed the curve of the inner wall of the domed building. The corridor was empty because it was the weekend and no one saw them enter Bulma's secret laboratory. They stopped at a dead end hallway and the smooth floor descended and formed into a steep flight of stairs. Bulma went in first and lights flickered on with every step she took. "Hurry up and get in here," she said over her shoulder.

Chi-Chi quickly descended the steps before they retracted and disappeared. She looked around as they made their way across the length of the lab. The lab room was rectangular in shape and had a low ceiling. It was about twenty feet wide and one hundred feet long with a metal door at the very end. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all mirrored. Chi-Chi looked down and saw up her own skirt. Her thighs were rubbing together excessively. _'Damn, I need to work out.'_ On either side of her there were tons of dismantled gadgets laid out on stainless steel tables. When they got to the metal door, Bulma halted her.

"Behind this door," Bulma began, "is a room that will expose you to highly concentrated radiation. The radiation will temporarily scramble your DNA so that the Saiyan genes injected into you will easily take hold. Once it's bound to you, the room will be flooded with a gas that will penetrate your skin and lock the genetic sequence into place. This is the point of no return, are you still up for it?"

Chi-Chi folded her arms and smirked. "Humph. A Saiyan doesn't fear such things."

Bulma laughed and patted Chi-Chi's shoulder. "Take it easy there, _Vegeta_," she mocked. "You're still human right now you know. You wont be a full Saiyan until all the steps have been completed." She pulled a black remote out of the pocket of her lab coat and showed it to Chi-Chi. "This operates everything behind that door. The green button turns it on and everything else is automatic. It's preprogrammed so don't worry. I only need you to remember the green button when its my turn." Bulma slid an index finger over a mini touch screen on the remote, causing the door to open. "Step inside."

Chi-Chi walked in non-chalantly and sat down on the reclining white chair. The small six by six foot room was lined with little laser emitters that were covered by a layer of one inch thick glass. The chair she was in had cushiony arm rests and was heated. "This is comfortable," she said as she rested her head against the back of the chair.

"Yeah, well, don't get too relaxed," Bulma said right before pushing the green button.

"Ouch!" Chi-Chi yelped as she was pricked in the back of her neck by a needle. "Hey! What was that?"

"I just injected you with a solution containing the first stage of Saiyan genes. Here, bite down on this," Bulma said as she handed Chi-Chi a mouth guard. "It's going to be painful and I don't want you grinding your teeth. I've got to step out now. The door will shut in a few seconds." Bulma turned and walked out before the door slid shut. Then she activated a monitor on a stainless steel table that allowed her to see what was going on inside.

Chi-Chi flinched when she heard the hum of the emitters activate. A second after that, she was bombarded with pain and bit down on the mouth piece hard. She screamed through her teeth and arched her back as the radiation got to her. Her body began to glow from the inside out and her clothing disintegrated as she entered a state of pure energy. Her energy form still held the shape of her body, though. She trembled violently for five minutes straight and dug her nails into the arm rests of the chair. "Ghhhaaaa!"

Bulma looked away as she couldn't stand to see her friend in agony, even if it was for a good cause.

The hum ceased and Chi-Chi's physical body reappeared. She was covered in sweat and breathed heavily. Her heart raced unbelievably fast as every ounce of body fat was converted into muscle. She felt like she was on fire and nearly passed out from pain overload. However, a soothing blue gas filled the room and eased her pain before she could slip into unconsciousness. She spit out the mouth piece and took several deep breaths of the gas. Before she knew it, she felt better than ever. It was as if she had lived in that form all along.

All of a sudden, a fan turned on and vacuumed all of the gas out of the room. Then, the door opened and Bulma rushed in with an extra lab coat and a pair of jeans for Chi-Chi to put on. Bulma paused as she watched Chi-Chi get dressed and began taking notes. Chi-Chi had grown about an inch and lost her love handles, among other pockets of fat. She now had the perfectly sculpted body of an Olympic gymnast and she looked at least twenty years younger. She didn't have a tail, though. Bulma assumed that it would appear during the final stage and scribbled it down on her notepad as she continued to eyeball Chi-Chi.

"Uh…" Chi-Chi started, "Do you have to watch me like that? 'Cause it's kind of creeping me out."

"Huh?" Bulma said, coming out of her scientific daze. "Oh, yeah, sorry. Just noting the effects of the first procedure. This is the first time it's actually been used. I'm pleased with the results."

Chi-Chi just motioned for Bulma to turn around.

"Right. My bad," she said before turning and walking over to the monitor.

A couple of minutes later Chi-Chi walked out of the room wearing the buttoned up lab coat and the loose fitting blue jeans. She grinned at Bulma. "Look who's thinner than you," she laughed as she ran her thumb along the waist of the jeans.

"Laugh while you can, Chi-Chi. It's my turn now," Bulma said as she shed her clothing and ran into the room.

Chi-Chi picked up the remote from the pile of clothes that Bulma left and walked over to the door way. "Hey, why did you let me go in fully clothed if you knew they would just disintegrate?"

"I didn't," Bulma said as she leaned back in the chair. "I had no idea that your clothes would burn off like that. I can't know everything about an untested machine, after all. You were a guinea pig, sorry," she said before putting her mouth guard in.

Chi-Chi shot Bulma a dirty look before stepping back and hitting the green button.

"Ouch!" Bulma cried.

"You deserve it," Chi-Chi said after the doors closed.

Bulma tensed up in preparation for the coming pain. The hum kicked in and she closed her eyes. "Ghhhaaaa!" she screamed as she underwent the same process as Chi-Chi.

Chi-Chi watched the monitor unflinchingly as Bulma was transformed. She didn't seem to have a problem with a little suffering. Then she mentally kicked herself. _'What are you thinking Chi-Chi? That's your friend in there…Damn, this Saiyan DNA must already be affecting my mind.'_ She turned the monitor off and sat on a fold out chair to wait it out.

Five minutes later, the door swished open and Bulma walked out looking refreshed and youthful. Chi-Chi tossed the pile of clothes at Bulma and looked away. "Yuck! Make an effort to cover yourself at least. Damn. Wait a second…" She did a double take on Bulma's face.

"What is it?" Bulma asked as she pulled the shirt over her head.

"Your hair…it's black!"

"What?" Bulma yelled. She turned to the mirrored wall and looked for herself. "Noooo! My beautiful blue hair," she cried. "It's gone! All gone! Why? Trunks is half Saiyan and _his_ hair is still lavender."

Chi-Chi scratched her forehead and thought. "Well, you said we were going to be full-blooded. And no full-blooded Saiyan has blue hair. It's your own fault."

Bulma pouted. "The things we do for power…this better be worth it."

"Chill out, Bulma. We'll both be fine. In fact, I've never felt better. And it's all thanks to you."

"You do have a point," she said after pulling up her jeans. She flexed a bicep and smiled. "I could probably teach Vegeta a lesson or two."

"Yeah, sure, and I could make Goku be interested in books," Chi-Chi said sarcastically. "You said yourself that we wont even be as strong as them when we're complete."

"You're right, but I just feel so damn good! I feel like hitting something really hard, but not in a bad way. I'm not mad or anything, I just have this indescribable urge."

"Me too!"

"It must be the Saiyan part of me talking," Bulma surmised.

"Yeah, I didn't have any trouble watching you scream in pain just now. It's like my own mind isn't sure what to behave like. Am I Saiyan or human? I have to constantly remind myself that I'm neither."

"My guess is that it'll be like that until the process is completed and we become whole again. For now, we'll just have to deal."

"Man, I hope we finish this soon. It's gonna be tough acting like myself around my family. Oh shit! I just remembered! Normally, I'd be preparing lunch by now. I've got to go home and get started before the boys get hungry and leave here." Chi-Chi turned and ran toward the other end of the lab.

Bulma ran after her and hit a switch on the remote to open the stairs just as they got to them. She followed Chi-Chi all the way outside to the front lawn. "Hey, aren't you going to take your Capsule Car?"

"Nope," Chi-Chi said before she took off running. "Too slow!"

"Come back tomorrow okay!"

"See ya!" Chi-Chi waved before dashing off in a blur.

Bulma looked surprised. _'She's that fast already? Her house is like eight hundred miles from here. That's pretty cool. I wonder what I can do?'_

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(Just had this idea and thought it was interesting. Don't hate me for it. Although, this is good for you Chi-Chi fans out there. Let me know if you want another chapter.)


	2. Self Control

**DISCLAIMER: blah, blah, blah... you already know what i'm going to say!**

**NOTE: Sorry for not updating in a while, but I'm up to my neck in school stuff. This is a little short and it was all I had time for right now. I did this in one sitting so if it's not great don't hold it against me. Thanks for reading!  
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**CHAPTER 2: Self Control**

_'What's going on here? Where am I? ANSWER ME!'_

"Hey, it's okay. Wake Up... wake up..."

Chi-Chi gasped as she came out of her nightmare. She was immediately at ease when she saw Goku's smiling face above her. He was standing beside the bed holding a plate of leftover fried chicken.

"What time is it?" Chi-Chi asked as she sat up and wiped the sweat from her brow.

"It's 3 in the afternoon," he mumbled with a piece of chicken in his mouth

"WHAT! And you just let me sleep? I need to get those dishes from lunch clean and put away!" she said with urgency.

"Relax, it's all taken care of. The boys and I got it all done for you."

"WHAT!" Chi-Chi yelled in dismay.

"Whoa, whoa! Hey, did I say something wrong?" Goku asked with a confused look on his face. "I thought It'd make you happy."

Chi-Chi was frozen in her sitting postion spacing out as tears began to well up in her eyes. "W-Why..." she stuttered as she held back the tears.  
"...why did you do that?"

"Well...you looked tired and I figured after preparing a lunch of that magnitude you could use a nap," he said after setting the plate of food on a short table near the bed. His expression became more concerned as he leaned in to wipe a stray tear from her cheek. "Chi-Chi are you alright?"

"That was my job...that was one thing that I could do that you couldn't. That was one of my abilities as a good wife...and now you don't even need me for that," she said as her control over the tears broke. "Goku, why do you stay with me? What do you need me for? How do I fit in to this family and-"

Goku pulled her into an embrace and held her cheek against his. "Don't talk like that," he said softly into her ear. "You are the hinge that holds us all together. Me and the boys wouldn't be here without you. Many times in battle when I almost lost the will to fight, it was the thought of you that kept me going. I would say to myself, 'I have someone special to protect, so I can't give up.' As long as I'm with you I will, without a doubt, never fail. I'm not just strong because I'm Saiyan, but because you give me strength. It's not menial tasks like cooking or cleaning that make me love you, it's the emotional bonds we share that were built through the lives we've lived. I thought you'd have figured that out by now?"

Chi-Chi grabbed his shoulder and cried tears of happiness all over his gi.

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"Damnit! Open up woman, this isn't the bathroom so you shouldn't be taking this long!" Vegeta yelled throught the door of the gravity chamber as Bulma tinkered with wires under the central console. 

"Be patient!" Bulma screamed. "Geez, if only you were this eager in the bedroom"  
she muttered to herself.

"I heard that!" Vegeta yelled. "Don't forget about my superior Saiyan hearing, woman. You're lucky I put up with you! And I don't particularly care for those stupid new hair styles your always trying." Vegeta began imitating Bulma's voice while shaking his hips and patting his hair. "Oh Veggie-chan, come and look at my new hair isn't it fabulous! I just got it done, do you want to touch it? Do ya?" He got so into his impression that he didn't notice Bulma walking towards the door with an angry look on her face.

Bulma kicked the door off it's hinges and straight into Vegeta's face. She wore a crooked smile and her left eye twitched uncontrollably.

Vegeta, caught off guard by shock more than pain, brushed the steel door aside with ease, but slower than usual. In a second Bulma's hand was clasped around Vegeta's neck and she had him pinned up against the wall. Her dark black eyes gleamed with energy as they met his and they both understood what was to come next.

"Let's go! Right here, right now!" Bulma spit through her teeth. "I'm sick of your arrogance. If you won't give me the respect I deserve willingly, then I'll just have to beat it out of you!"

"Bulma, I'm not into guy's okay. You may have just put our marriage in jeopardy by growing balls!" Vegeta mocked as he pried his wife's hand from his throat. "But if you're so eager to learn then I guess I have no choice but to teach you."

Bulma backed off and assumed a defendive pose. She had never felt so energized in her entire life. She completely disregarded her previous statement about secrecy. She wanted Vegeta to know she wasn't weak anymore. "Bring it on."

Vegeta smirked and flashed toward her. He unconsciously threw a weaker punch - and paid for it in full. Out of nowhere Bulma's foot hit him in the jaw and sent him flying into the gravity chamber. She dashed after him comparitively slower than he had come at her and Vegeta was fully aware of her approach but, out of curiosity, took the hit. Her punch was decent enough, however at this level he wouldn't be entertained for very long. Still, he couldn't help but feel a familiarity with her unusually strong ki and it nagged at him to find out what it was so he played along.

Bulma sliced, punched, kicked, and body checked Vegeta repeatedly, but he wouldn't fall down. _'Isn't he tired yet? Of course not, he's Vegeta.'_ Bulma became enraged at him for not giving up and began to feel tingles move from her core outward and down her arms. Her obvious lack of battle tactics had taken the fight nowhere except around the chamber in circles. Fortunately, she had unknowingly built up ki behind her fists with the prolonged fighting. _'I don't know what this feeling is, but it feels good. I think I can win!'_ "Take this!" she cried out as she threw a flaming white fist into Vegeta's face, releasing her entire reserve of ki at once.

Vegeta accepted the attack and was knocked through the wall of the structure and into the bushes outside. It was then that he recognized the ki as Saiyan. He quickly got up and flew back into the chamber via the huge hole in the wall only to find Bulma lying unconscious. "Humph, it was too much for her to control and she used all of it at once. Pitifull." He picked her up gently and carried her into the house and upstairs to their room. Then he set her down on the bed and left her alone. _'She'll tell me she's ready.'_

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Bulma awoke to the annoying repetitive beep of her alarm clock. "Morning Already?" she yawned. "Oh man, why am I so sore? My muscles feel like they're on fire!" She rolled over and saw that Vegeta's side of the bed was empty, as usual. He was always up earlier than her to get a jump on his training. She laughed to herself a little, "I beat him. I bet he's training extra hard now."

"Actually," Vegeta said appearing from the bathroom in a towel, "I decided to take it easy today. I thought I might go hang out with Kakarot." He disappeared into the closet for a bit as he got dressed.

"You're certainly acting strange lately," she said, sliding out of bed and wincing at the pain her body endured just to walk.

"No stranger than you."

"Maybe." _'He never hangs out with Goku on purpose.'_ "Aren't you curious though?" she asked with proud smile.

"Nope," Vegeta said flatly.

This angered Bulma slightly. "But you don't even know what I was going to ask."

"Don't have the time. I've got to meet Kakarot in two minutes," he said as he stepped out of the closet fully dressed in his usual uniform. "See ya." Vegeta took off from the balcony and was out of sight in a matter of seconds.

_'That was weird,'_ she thought, _'why is he acting so distant. Not even an insult or an order? Somethings definitely up with him. Maybe I hurt his pride as a man. Well, that will have to wait for later I should use this free time while I can and proceed with next stage of the therapy.'_ She picked up the phone and dialed Chi-Chi.


End file.
